Improvement in apparatus for treating ore and manufacturing iros and steel



2 Sheets Shet 1.

i E.'PE6KHAM. Apparatusfor Treating Ores and Manufaciuring Eran anwsteei. No. 140,158. PatentedJun e24,1873.

EDGAR PEGKHAM, ornnrwnnr, new "roux...

iMPROVEMENT IN APPARATUS FOR TREATING ORE AND MANUFACTURING lliflfl AND STEEL.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. hdtll iids, dated June 24, L873; application file;

- May.9, 1873.

1'0 all u'hom it may concern:

Beit known that I, EDGAR Pncnnnrr, of

Antwerp, Jefferson county, New York, hare invented certain Improvements in Furnaces for .Desulphurizing and otherwise Treating Ores and Manufacturing Iron and Steel directly therefrom, ofwhich the following is a specification: L

p The first part of my inventiomrelates to the combination and arrangement of the; chambers, retorts, and cooling-chambers in such a manner that each chamber, retort, and coolingchamber forms one section, and can be operated alone and independent of the rest of the furnace. The second part of my invention relates to the combination and arrangement o-ttwo orinore sections of chambers and retprts (each chamber and retort formin g one section) 1 in such a manner thatthe furnace can be constructed with any desired number of sections.

. The third part relates to a combination and-- arrangement of two or more sections of chambers, retorts, and cooling rats or chambers lengthwise, (each chamber, retort, and coolin chamber forming one section,) in such a man-" ner that the furnace can be constructed with any desired number of sections.

Figure 1, aside elevation; Fig. 2, transverse section on line as .r in Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a

, longitudinal section.

A A represent the walls, which may be of brick or other suitable material. B is the fire, which may be of any of the usual forms for burning wood or coal. 0 is the horizontal draft-or flame and heat passage from the fire B, and C is the passage in the end wall of the furnace for conveying the flame and heat from the passage 0 to the chambers 1),. D, and D The heat .and flame pass from. the fire B through the passage 0, and from 0 through O. to the chambers D, Dfland D, and through H, H,-and H are hoppers or openings with and F The openings are kept closed exfceptv when transferring ore. K, K, and K are pas sages for transferring the ore from retorts F, F,

and F to cooling vats or chambers L,L,"and

L. M, M, and M are, dampers for closing said passages, and. are kept closed except when the ore is being transferred from retorts The ore in the chain; bers D, D, and D is stirred and operated 1 to cooling-chambers.

through the docrsO, O, and 0 The doors Q, Q, and Q in the side of the passage 0 are to remove any ashes or emery that may-accumulate in the'passage. The door R in the end wall of furnace is to admit cold air into the chambers D, D, and D when treating ores containing sulphur. I The blast-pipe S is for conveying wind from the blowers to passage 0, when required. T is a reducing fire or fur nape, which may be of any of the usual forms of reducing fires, or furnaces for reducing ores.

U is a damper to the reducing-furnace T. V

is an openingor passage'tbr conveying the heat or flame from the reducing-furnace T to the converting-furnace A A. W is a slidedamper for closing the passage Vwhen reducing-furuace is not in operation.

The manner of conducting the process and operating the furnace is as follows, viz; The ore: is firstreduced to about the size of small walnuts, (it may be a little larger or smallcn) and if it contains any dirt or stony matter it should be separated from them, and then mixed with about an equal quantity in hull: of fine charcoal, coke, or bituminous coal, (fine charcoal preferred.) Fire is then made in the tireplace B, of center wood, and thedampers G and G opened, and all the other doors and dampers closed. When the passage 0 and chambers D, D, and I) are heated to a cherry-red heat, the chambers I), I), and

D are charged with ore through the hop-- pers or openings H, H, and H? to the depth of from four to six inches. The ore, while in chambers D, 1), and D should be frequently ,stirredor rabbled by operating through the doors U U, U TI and U and U, after being in chambers D, I), and!) about twenty-s v i'onr hours, or sufiicient time to become heated vquired will depend upon the character of 'ore employed, and will vary from three to six days for a complete rcductiom) it is. thentrans ferred from retorts RF, and F through openin gs or passages K, K, and K to cooling vats j 'dry,becauee they do not prod uce cinder enon gh or chambers L, L, and D, where it is allowed to cool before using. After the ore has been transferred from retorts F, F, andul to coolin g vats or chambers L, L, and U the damp ers M, M, and M to passages K, K; and K shouldbe closed, and the ore in chambers D,.D, and D should be transferred, throu hopenings LP, and I, to retorts F, -1 and, and new charges oi; oreput in chambers D, D, and D.

' When the ore in the cooling vats or chambers L,

I andLis coldfitis'readyfor use, and may beremofi' ed to the reduciugfire or furnace and the orefrom theretortsgF, F and F transierred to cooling chambers 1;, L, and L and the ore. from chambers, D, D, and D? to retorts F,-F and E and new chargesof ore put in chainhers D, D, and D The doors 0, O, and .0

and P to cooling-retell, L and Ushould be kept air-tight by plasteringthe edges so as to prevent the admission of any cold air.

The process may be slightly varied, as follows: As soon as theore in the .chambe'rs' D, 'D ,an(l' D has been sufficiently treated itmay lie-"Transferred to retorts F, F ,'F and new charges of ore put in the chambers D, D, and I p D, and as soon as they have been also sufficiently treated they may be also, transferred to retorts F, F, and F and new' charges of ore put in chambers D, D, and D The remainder ofthe process is conducted aspreviously described.

In this way the retorts and coolingvnts or chambers will contain. double charges,- and twice as much ore as whencha ed and conducted, in the manner prei'iou y"described, thereby enl rgin g the capacityoi the-furn ace,

If it 1s des redtocerbonizetheore more t-hpr;

' oughly, so as to produce a higher steehon steel containing a, greater percentage of carbon, fresh fine charcoal should be added to-and mixed with the ore when it is tranferred from chambers D, D, and 11 to retorts F, F, andF.

When treating ores containing sulphur, the door B should be opened sufficiently toe-llowa' free admissionof coid air to the chambers D, D, and D but not enough to reduce-thetemperature of the chambers below a cherry-red,

care being taken to keep the chambers at a its eherry-red heat. The ore should be stirred oi rabbled frequently.

The furnace can be operated without using the cooling vats or chambers by allowing the fromthe retorts. It is preferable. reuse the cooling-vats, and allow the ore to cool iii-them before using, as by cooling in this manner the ore is annealed, and produces very toughiron and steel. K 1 I By constructing thefurnace in sections, each chamber, retort, and cooling yet or 'fchamber forming'one section, the sections maybe used alternately, and the process made a continuous one. The furnace can-be construced with any given number of'sections, and its capacity increased or diminished, as desired.

When working rich magnetic ores, that work or thetprodnce a thick, heavy, impure cinder, that willnotflowreadily,Iuseascfluxleanhem atite ore or limestone in the following manner, viz: Ireduce the ore orlimestoneby stampin g or crushing to about the size ofcoarse shot, and mix it with the ore before charging into the furnacmusingffrom one-sixth to one-tenth as much flux in bulk as I do ore, varying the amount usedaccording to the richness and character of the ore employed; using enough 'of the flux to produce When manufacturing ironand steel from the prepared.ore,jfire is made in the; cing fire orfurnace T--which maybe of any or theusual forms of reducing fires or fugnaces and the converting-furnace A A. The converting-fur; nace is operated substan jelly as previously described; and the ore, w en sufficiently re}v duced, is'taken from the cooliugvats or chainbers 14,1), and U to the reducing-- fire certs, nace-T, and there manipulated in steel in the usual manner.

-I claim--- 1. The combination of the chambers D, D', and D, one or more, the retorts F, F, and F and the coolingyats or chambers L, L, and L, each chamber, retort, and coolingchamber; forming one section, constructed substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

2. The combination of two or more sections ed substantially as and fa ths-purposes here forth. I .-The c bi'uation of two oremore sections 'of chambers, retorts, and 'coolin'gchambers Witnesses I AUSTIN B. PAIGE, J. S. KELLOGG.

ore to cool on the ground, or using it hot direct a thin li'quid cinder that .will flow readily. I

waste heat or flame therefrom used to heat the to iron ahd oi. chambers and retorts lengthwise, each chain; her and retort forming one,. scmtion, construct;

lengthwise, each chamber, retort, and coolin 

